"I think we need to start dueling practice again."
Harry and Ron looked up at Hermione in the otherwise silent kitchen of the Burrow. "Dueling practice?" Harry could hear the skepticism in Ron's voice. "For fighting You-Know-Who?" Hermione nodded and Ron shook his head sadly. "No amount of practice is going to be enough to keep us alive. It's going to take dumb luck or lucky potion, which we should have brewed."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "If I could have made it correctly then it might have been worth the time, but as it is I don't think that I could have. No, we need a solid plan for how Harry is to kill him."
"I don't suppose the Killing Curse would do it, then?" Harry asked between his bites of toast.
"It would be fine if you could cast it, but I doubt you'll be able to. You love and care too much for that. No," Hermione mused out loud, "we'll have to think of something else."
Harry popped the last bite in his mouth. "We'll have to talk about this later. Ginny will be home soon and I want to spend more time with her before we have to leave again."
"Yes, about that Harry," Hermione got up from the table after pushing her half eaten breakfast over to Ron, "I've given this a lot of thought and I think that we were on to something with Nick. That pendant is probably the last Horcrux. Do you remember back at Luna's when we were reading the papers and we read about the death of that antiques dealer?"
Harry glanced sideways to see that Ron was shaking his head. "Nope." Ron went back to finishing off Hermione's breakfast.
"Well, there was one. I'm starting to think that she and Nick are connected somehow."
Harry watched her wring her hands for a moment before nodding. "Okay, we'll check that out tomorrow." He was more than anxious to end this conversation. Ginny was arriving home any minute and he wanted their last day together to be pleasant.
She was healing very well and all of her cuts now stayed closed, but Harry hadn't got time alone with her since that first day. He knew that he had to get back to work on killing Voldemort. Their world was in chaos and every second that Voldemort was alive was another chance for him to get Ginny.
Harry wasn't going to let that happen. They had spent a lot of time at St. Mungo's but as soon as they got back to the Burrow, Harry had been just as manic as Hermione about reading through books that Remus had brought them.
He and Remus weren't on the best of terms, but it was nothing compared to what Tonks was going through. Remus understood that Tonks hadn't been allowed to tell him anything, but Hermione had overheard Mrs. Weasley say that Remus and Tonks were in a fight over it.
Overall Harry couldn't really stay mad at him. He knew what it was to love someone so much and to feel betrayed. Besides, Harry had bigger problems now.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice floated in through his reverie. "They're here."
Harry's grin could have split his face as he turned to watch Mr. Weasley levitating his daughter on a stretcher through the yard.
Wizards, it seemed, had a magical form of an ambulance, when normal travel methods were not possible. Unfortunately, with the house under the Fidelius Charm, they weren't able to bring her all the way to the house.
He pulled open the door and stood aside for the stretcher, then Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who each looked happy but tired.
"Can I get off now, Dad?" Ginny complained as she floated into the sitting room.
"Maybe she should go up for a rest?" Mrs. Weasley said, fussing with the blanket on the stretcher as it slowly lowered itself to the ground.
"She," Ginny groused, "isn't tired."
Harry hovered just behind Mrs. Weasley, unsure of what he should do, although he knew what he wanted to do. He glanced towards Ron and Hermione and saw that they were both trying to keep out of it.
"Now, sweetie," Mr. Weasley said reasonably, "we just don't want you to over exert yourself."
Ginny's eyes traveled from her father's to Harry's, where they rested pleadingly. He took a deep breath and said, "How about she spends a bit of time down here with us and then goes up for a nap?"
"Well…" Mrs. Weasley hesitated until she looked at Harry. "I suppose that would be all right. Harry, would you help Arthur put her on the couch?"
He grinned gratefully at her as he moved over to Ginny's side. Tucking his arm gently beneath her left shoulder while Mr. Weasley did the same on her right, they lifted her up to sitting. When they finally had her standing, she walked slowly over to the couch, which she sank into gratefully as soon as they reached it.
She had started walking, with a lot of help, the day before. This fact alone was what convinced the Healers that she was ready to go home.
"Thanks," Ginny sighed heavily as she sank into the cushions.
"Can I get you anything, dear?" Mrs. Weasley fussed as she pulled an afghan over Ginny's legs. Harry stood up awkwardly. He wanted to talk to Ginny privately, but didn't see that happening with her family around.
Mr. Weasley cleared his throat and Harry saw him studying him intently. "Molly, why don't we let Harry and Ginny spend a bit of time together…" Harry was starting to wonder if Mr. Weasley was proficient in Legilimency.
For a moment Mrs. Weasley looked as though she was going to protest, but a quick glance from her husband kept her from saying more. Harry started to say something to Ron and Hermione, but he realized that they'd already left the room.
He needed to thank them later for that.
Mr. Weasley steered his wife towards the kitchen and said, over his shoulder, "If you need us, we'll be just in here."
Harry turned back to Ginny and sank down to his knees in front of her, so full of emotions that he felt like he was going to burst. When he looked into her eyes he felt like his heart could melt. For her part, Ginny's expression was full of questions.
He didn't give her a chance to ask anything. Gently he leaned forward and kissed her soft lips, losing himself in the feelings that were swirling through him.
"Harry…" his name was just a whisper on her lips, but it spoke volumes.
He took his hands from the couch, where he'd placed them to steady himself, and carefully cupped her cheeks. There were scars there, and the ridges were evident under his palms, but it barely registered. He was so glad to have her safely back that nothing else mattered. Harry could have been angry with her for running off, but he was the one who'd pushed her away. He could be mad that she'd been hurt, but that would take up all of his thoughts for the last day they had together.
"I love you." This was what he wanted to do with his time. Kiss the girl he loved and tell her exactly how he felt.
"I love you too, but, Harry…"
More kisses, slowly peppering over her lips and her nose. "I'm really glad you're home now."
"Why aren't you mad?"
Slowly he opened his eyes and rocked back on his heels, to better examine her eyes. "I was… for a long time."
Ginny's expression was an interesting cross between defiant and self-reproving. "I did something really stupid."
"Why did you do it then?" Harry took her hand and gently caressed the part that was unmarred.
"Because… because I was angry that you were leaving me, and because I couldn't sit around and do nothing." Her breath was ragged as she slowly inhaled. "What really set me off was finding out that there was a traitor in the Order. I couldn't sit by when I had a chance to get into Nott's house."
Harry's stomach twisted painfully at the thought of her living with him. "What… what happened between you two, exactly?" It shouldn't matter, and it wasn't as if it would change his feelings, but he felt like he needed to know.
Ginny snorted quietly. "Not what you're imagining. He owed me a life debt."
His mouth fell open in shock. "You're kidding."
"No, I'm not." Ginny patted the seat next to her and Harry got up from the floor to sit gingerly at her side. She leaned against him and began her tale. "Last year, on the train, I had a dream about Malfoy telling me that if I helped the right person, they'd help me." Harry vaguely remembered her having the dream, but he kept quiet so she could continue. "So I left our compartment and ducked into another to avoid Ron and Hermione. I needed to think and I didn't want to be disturbed.
"I continued down the train and found one door open a bit. I pushed it open and found Theodore on the floor, gagging in his own blood. It turned out that after Ron and Hermione had tied him up for trying to hex them that Ron had kicked in his nose. He was positioned so that the blood was pouring in to his mouth."
Harry felt frozen to the seat. "You healed him?"
"I did, using the spell you'd showed us at Quidditch practice." She hesitated just for a moment before continuing. "He said 'thank you' and that he owed me. If I needed anything that he'd help me. He told me where he lived and told me I was welcome any time." Ginny shivered and he put his arm around her shoulder, trying not to jostle her too much. "I didn't think I'd ever take him up on it, but… well the rest you know. I ran to him, looking as pathetic as I could manage, starved and dirty, and he took me in without question.
"I wouldn't say that we were close friends, but I did like him. He may have tried to hex Ron on the train, but he never got involved in the Death Eater activities with his father. He had his own beliefs and he didn't let others dictate what he was going to do."
"What I don't understand is how you got any information to pass on to Tonks. I would have thought they'd be suspicious of you."
"They were," Ginny assured him. "Sometimes it was as simple as Extendable Ears and other times I would have to sneak through the secret passages in the house to listen in. The house-elves were the only problem since they were loyal to the family, but I learned how to avoid them."
Harry shook his head in disbelief. "How did you learn how to spy, though?"
She turned her head up and gave him a look that clearly said, You're joking, right? "Fred and George, of course. We used to spy on Percy constantly, sometimes even Bill and Charlie."
"They included you in that?" Harry couldn't see them willingly teaching her anything like that.
"Not because they wanted to. I caught them sneaking out once when they'd been grounded and threatened to tell Mum on them. We made a deal for an exchange of information." Ginny shifted next to him and buried her face into his shirt.
He ran a finger gently down her arm, feeling the bandages under her shirt. "When did you become an Occlumens?" This fact had stuck in the back of Harry's mind ever since Hermione had let it slip months ago.
"I started working on it after my first year. Didn't I ever tell you about this?" Harry shook his head, answering her question. Impulsively he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Well," Ginny continued, "I started training as soon as we got to Egypt that summer; Bill started teaching me Occlumency so that no one could get into my head again. I've been practicing it for years."
"I wish you would have taught me," Harry muttered darkly. "I might have learned something, then. Snape was useless."
Ginny giggled nervously, which surprised him. "I'd probably have tried, but not very hard. I definitely didn't want you to be able to poke around in my head during my fourth year. That would have been so embarrassing."
Harry's mouth fought him to smile. "I think I'd like to see those memories anyway."
"Oh no," she told him firmly. "Some memories are better if they are forgotten."
Like the memory of his parents' death. He wasn't sure where the thought had come from, but Harry knew he had to tell Ginny about it. "I have a Pensieve."
"You do?" Her voice was curious, but she didn't press him for more. He appreciated that about her.
"Yeah, we needed to see my parents' death." He said it frankly, as if it hadn't been one of the hardest things he'd ever done.
Ginny's body went rigid next to him. Then he felt her try to wrap her arms around him. She wasn't particularly successful, but it didn't matter. "Harry… I'm so sorry. That sounds awful."
"It wasn't completely bad. I got to hear my parents talk about me and talk about having another baby." He closed his eyes, keeping them shut tightly. "Mum said she was still overweight from having me and Dad said she was gorgeous. They teased each other and I could hear how much they loved each other… how… how much they loved me."
A tear pushed its way out from behind his eyelids. Ginny seemed to be just as affected as he was. Her shoulders began to shake as she cried with him. They clung together for several minutes until Harry could finally compose himself. "I wish they'd had a chance to grow old together."
"I think," Ginny began, her voice sounding hoarse, "that it sounds like they wanted the same for you."
Harry instinctively knew that she was right. "I'm going to have that," he promised her firmly. "I'm going to finish off the ruddy bastard and live happily ever after with you." His heart skipped a beat when he heard her gasp. "I mean, i-if that's what you want."
"It's what I want." Ginny turned more fully into him and let out a sigh. "Harry… I'm sorry I caused so many problems for everyone. I'm a mess now and everyone was worried about me." Harry was so shocked, that he didn't know what to say to her. "I mean," she continued, "I'm not sorry I went because I saved so many people, but-"
"I know." Harry silenced her with a kiss. "I'm sorry I didn't take you with me in the first place. I knew you weren't going to be happy about it and all I could think about was keeping you safe."
Ginny looked in his eyes; hers full of confusion and something else he couldn't name. "So we both made a mess of things."
"Looks it, yeah," Harry agreed as he snaked his hand up into her soft hair. He didn't want to bring this up, but he knew he had to. "Listen, we're leaving tomorrow. We have to continue it."
"I can't go." It wasn't a question, just a statement. "Maybe if I hadn't been hurt…"
"Definitely," Harry said, wishing that she could be with him and at the same time, just a bit thankful that she had to stay here to recover. She was safe here.
Ginny laughed, the first real laugh he'd heard from her in over six months. "You don't mean it, but since I can't do anything about it, and it's my own fault, I'll let you get away with it… for now at least."
"Thanks," Harry replied in amusement. "I just have one more question…"
"Yeah?"
"What did you do to George after the wedding?"
Ginny's smile faltered for a moment. "I Stunned him. He wasn't expecting it, so… it was rather easy. That should teach you not to trust anyone, though."
"I'll keep that in mind," Harry answered seriously as she let out a small yawn. "Okay, bed time then."
"Harry… you're getting as bad as Mum." She was getting too tired to put anything behind her words.
He felt an ache tug at his heart. "Should I get her?"
"No," Ginny yawned again. "Can you just help me up to my room?"
Harry gently scooped her into his arms and her head flopped against his shoulder. After tucking her in to bed, he went back down to the kitchen and explained to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley what he'd done.
Both of them studied him in a way that he couldn't define, but then they both nodded their approval and he breathed a sigh of relied. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but he was sure it seemed to be good.